• Family Finances - Budgeting - Saving - Investing - Retirement - Kids

How to Make a Christmas Gift-Giving Budget and Stick to It

You’ve probably already heard a thousand times how important it is to have a budget for your Christmas gift-giving. Having a budget allows you to plan for your holidays expenses and to keep them under control. However, having a budget and sticking to it are often very different things.
You have to [...]

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Being the CEO of Your Family

What do you know about CEO’s? You’ve heard of Dan Hesse, right? He’s the new CEO of Sprint, the guy in all of their new commercials. Michael Eisner became infamous as the head of Disney. And then there’s you. Yes, I said, “you.”
Yes, you are the CEO of your household. [...]

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Warehouse Club - Is it Worth the Annual Cost?

I’ve heard many people argue back and forth about the value of joining a warehouse club. Some people feel that they really save a lot of money by purchasing their household supplies and food in bulk amounts. If you ask them, they’ll tell you that their savings more than makes up for the [...]

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What Should You Rent and What Should You Buy?

I have to tell you right away, as I write this, that I’m not a big fan of renting. In general, I prefer to own something than to make payments on it and never feel the joy of ownership. However, I realize that in some cases it’s simply not in my best interests [...]

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How to Cancel Your Cell Phone Contract

Getting out of a cell phone contract can be tricky business. You have a specific window of time that allows you to cancel the contract without any financial ramifications. After that window has closed, you can expect to pay a fairly substantial cancellation fee. In fact, a cell phone contract sometime seems [...]

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What to Look for When Reconciling Your Bank Statements

Reconciling a bank statement each month is never a good time. Unless you’re one of those fortunate few who actually like reviewing their statements each month, you probably put off reconciling your bank statement as long as possible. In fact, some people end up with multiple months’ statements piled on their desk before [...]

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Fitting Orthodontic Expenses into the Family Budget

Sometimes, huge expenses seem to hit you out of nowhere. For instance, you could be taking your child to his regular cleaning appointment at the dentist when suddenly you’re hit with the news that the little guy is going to need braces. Oh no! There went your hopes of ever getting your [...]

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Can You Really Go to a Cash Only System?

Many personal finance experts tout the benefits of going to a “cash only” spending system. They say that making this switch will provide all types of benefits to your financial life from helping you budget more accurately to encouraging you to spend less. And, for the most part, they’re right. But can [...]

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Teaching Kids the Benefits of Saving Money

What was the hardest part of the financial makeover you’ve been undergoing? Was it learning to create a budget? Maybe it was stopping the urge to use credit cards. If you’re like many people, one of the toughest parts of getting your finances under controls is learning to save money.
Now [...]

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What Can You Downsize to Save Money?

Downsizing is becoming a prevalent theme on the nightly news programs lately. Each evening seems to bring stories of large companies downsizing in an effort to stave off economic problems. Although no one wants to hear about layoffs and business closings, these companies are making sacrifices to ensure the financial security of the [...]

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